Chapter 916
: The Long Snake Formation Appears
Chapter 916: Long Snake Formation Appears
The Hall of Nourishing Heart,
In the imperial study, Dai Quan stood in front of the table, accompanying Emperor Wu in sorting out the roster of the generals in the Anhu camp. By now, there were already quite a few generals in the entire Beijing camp, and the backgrounds of each general were clearly written in the roster. They were all descendants of military honors in the capital, and although they did not have much ability, they were loyal.
After Emperor Wu left the court, he hurried back because he was thinking about the geomancy map of the south of the capital. Wang Ziteng was now trapped in one place. Even if he had cavalry available, the disadvantage in numbers could not be made up. The slave army fighting style of the White Lotus Sect in the past was targeting the weak spot of the imperial court. He felt uneasy, so he asked Dai Quan to present the roster of the generals of the various divisions of the Beijing camp for him to take a closer look. In addition, he was worried about the safety of the three princes. However, the backup plans had been made, so he was not so worried. It was a rare opportunity to experience the war in person. Even Emperor Wu himself had never witnessed it personally.
Especially Ding'er, who follows Marquis Luo Yun in the hope of gaining something. The position of the crown prince requires an emperor who can guard the city. Ding'er is steady and can be tested. The King of Wei is talented and intelligent. If he has the heart of an emperor, he also needs to be given a chance. The road to seizing the throne is never smooth.
After waiting for a while,
Outside the door, a eunuch came to report;
"Your Majesty, outside the Yangxin Palace, the commander of the Military Department, Lord Shi He, wants to see you."
"Well, He Yongxi, why is he here, noisy."
Emperor Wu Zhou Shihong put down the roster and paused for a moment, somewhat surprised. Why did he come at this time?
Looking up at the hall, I saw He Yongxi in a wrinkled official uniform, with a lot of dirt on his legs and feet. I didn't know where it came from.
Entered the temple,
He Yongxi bowed to the ground, and the whole mountain cheered;
"Long live the Emperor Wu, long live the Emperor Wu!"
"Stand up,"
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
He kowtowed again, then stood up carefully. Standing there, Emperor Wu knew that He Yongxi had always been neutral and did not fight with others. Now he looked angry, and it was obvious that he had provoked trouble. How exactly did he provoke trouble? At this critical moment in the court, he needed to be questioned in detail.
"He Aiqing, what's making you so anxious?"
Hearing Emperor Wu's question, He Yongxi's face straightened, and he took out an envelope from his arms. Then his eyes turned red, and he knelt on the ground, with tears in the corners of his eyes.
"Your Majesty, please help me. My brother-in-law, the son of He Yonghua, the garrison commander of Chang'an County, was forced to death by Yun Guang, the governor of Chang'an County. Woo woo!"
Let's talk about it. His face was full of sorrow, tears were streaming down his face, and he looked extremely miserable. A gleam of light flashed in Dai Quan's eyes. Chang'an County, Jiedushi Yun Guang, he could force He Shoubei's son to death, it was incredible.
Emperor Wu raised his head, and his tiger eyes instantly stared at him. Yun Guang of Chang'an County was also a noble old man. How could he be so unwise to force the son of the garrison to death?
"My dear Lord He, Yun Guang is also a smart and capable person. How could he be so unwise? What's the reason?"
"Your Majesty, how dare I lie to you? This is my brother He Shoubei's memorial to Yunguang, and also a letter to me, describing this matter. How dare I lie?"
He Yongxi cried and wiped her tears while presenting the letter with both hands. Dai Quan walked over, took the letter and envelope in his hands, turned back to the imperial desk, and placed a letter, a letter and an envelope on the desk.
Emperor Wu looked at the letter on the table, took it and read it carefully. The letter was detailed. Although it was complaining, it was not out of the ordinary. However, the letter said that Rongguo Mansion took the visiting card and sent someone to Yunguang Mansion. Could it be that Rongguo Mansion was making friends with foreign ministers?
"It is written in the letter that this matter happened because Rongguo Mansion sent someone to Yunguang Mansion. In the past, did Rongguo Mansion have any correspondence with Yunguang?"
This is the key point. For a military hero in the capital, colluding with foreign ministers is a serious crime. The Emperor Wu's eyes moved to He Yongxi who was kneeling on the ground, but he saw He Yongxi wiping his tears with his sleeves. After pondering for a moment, he shook his head.
"Your Majesty, I guarantee that Rongguo Mansion has never had any close contact with Yunguang in the past. My brother-in-law He Yonghua has served in Chang'an County for many years and has never seen Yunguang send anyone to Rongguo Mansion. He saw the letter from Rongguo Mansion this time with his own eyes. The content of the letter is a bit unfamiliar, as if it was the first time they were communicating. I just wonder why Rongguo Mansion could send a letter at this juncture."
There was some confusion in his eyes. It was hard to say who was behind the sudden action by Rongguo Mansion.
Emperor Wu smiled, put down the letter, opened it and saw that only the governor Yun Guang and the prefect Chang Yunze were impeached.
"Lord He is still honest. I think that everything in this matter has its cause and effect. He Yonghua's son died, which was not right. The Zhang family is even more shameless. Since they are the ones who reported it, I will make the decision for him."
Emperor Wu closed the memorial and thought about the current situation in Chang'an County. Three forces were entrenched there, and it was the western gate of the capital. He should focus on stability. Since the two of them could not be together, they should go to another place.
"Dai Quan, the cabinet approved the document, reprimanding Chang Yunze, the prefect of Chang'an County, for lax discipline and disregard for human ethics. In addition, Yun Guang and his 20,000 troops are transferred to the east immediately and put under the command of Beijing Prince Shui Rong to rush to Jinzhou. He Yonghua is temporarily in charge of Chang'an County, and He Yonghua is appointed as the garrison commander of Huaizhou City. When Luo Yunhou recovers the lost territory, he will take up the post and guard Huaizhou for me. It is the main road between Linshan County and Runan City."
He Yongxi's eyes widened. How could it be so serious? Huaizhou seemed to be in the hands of the White Lotus Sect, and Jingnan was a place of right and wrong. He Yonghua was a mediocre person, how could he go to that place? He kowtowed quickly.
"Your Majesty, my brother-in-law He Yonghua has no talent for commanding troops and his abilities are average. It is a long journey to Huaizhou, so how can he help your Majesty with your worries?"
"Hmph, you are the only one who has him in mind. When Marquis Luo Yun takes over the cities in the north and south of the capital, he will still need capable ministers to guard them for me. This time, Huaizhou fell easily, which caused Wei Xiangping in Runan to be passive. Therefore, I and the court need trustworthy people to guard them. I will not treat him unfairly. I will give him the title of garrison general and city defender. As for the matter of Chang'an County, he has a son. How about giving him the title of Yunhui Colonel?"
This is also the result of Emperor Wu's careful consideration. Both He Yonghua and Yun Guang are talented. Since Yun Guang was appointed as the governor of Chang'an County, there is nothing wrong with that. He Yonghua can only be transferred, but he can also be warned. Beijing Prince Shui Rong has no soldiers available in the capital, so defending Xihe County is the top priority. The White Lotus Sect is not a pushover either, and the case is weak, so this countermeasure is adopted.
Huaizhou is located at the northernmost end of the south of Beijing. It is a barrier between the two places and needs to be guarded by people with real talents. He Yongxi, the military governor, trembled. Since the emperor has explained it, how can he refuse? Huaizhou is a good place, but when will the civil unrest be quelled? And those officials in Linshan County are nowhere to be found alive or dead.
"Yes, Your Majesty, I, on behalf of my brother-in-law, thank you for your grace."
He kowtowed with mixed feelings, feeling uneasy. He didn't know if this trip was the right one. Fortunately, he didn't need to fight in the battlefield. Yun Guang still had to go to the Jinzhou front. Thinking of this, he felt a little better.
"My dear Lord He, please be more careful in guarding the gates of the capital. I am worried that the thieves will sneak into the capital in disguise. If they cause trouble again, it will be embarrassing for the court."
Emperor Wu picked up a red brush and wrote the word "read" on the memorial submitted by He Yonghua, and casually placed it on a corner of the table. He then put the other letter directly into an envelope and handed it to Dai Quan beside him. Dai Quan understood what he meant, took it, and returned it directly to Commander He.
"Your Majesty, I have issued strict orders to send more personnel to the gates of the capital city. The civilians and merchant caravans passing through must be strictly checked. In addition, the Military Affairs Department has 3,000 heavily armored soldiers patrolling the key points of the city every day to deter the scoundrels and not allow the thieves to take advantage of the situation."
He Yongxi said seriously that the Bingmasi had spent a huge amount of money to organize a heavy armored army, and it was because of this that the Taiping sect bandits were making a fuss in the capital, and the whole world knew about it, but the people in the Bingmasi did not even have a decent armor, and in the end they had to rely on the imperial army to wipe them out, which made the Bingmasi and the Imperial City Southern Pacification Office lose face, so they decided to organize a heavy armored army, and the same thing happened to the Southern Pacification Office.
"Okay, as long as you are here, I will be fine. I don't worry."
"Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty. I will never refuse even if I die."
He Yongxi kowtowed, then stood up and left, as if he had become much stronger. Dai Quan looked surprised and replaced the cup of tea for the emperor and put it on the table.
"Your Majesty, the three princes have packed up. The eldest prince has left the city with Marquis Luo Yun and went to the Anhu camp. The third prince followed him to the Dongping Palace. The guards' ships have gathered at the dock and are expected to board today. Finally, the Beijing Palace is still packing up, but the soldiers who sent the message have already left the capital."
The secret guards sent a secret report that the three princes had already set off. Dai Quan assigned the Imperial City Guards to escort the three princes closely and report the situation three times a day. They were taking a secret route.
"Well, I understand. It depends on how Marquis Luo Yun plans."
He raised his head and looked to the south, as if he could penetrate the city walls of the capital and see the scene at the Anhu camp.
The flags are flying everywhere,
The general's flag rises in the wind.
Zhang Jinyu stood on the stage, looking coldly at the two men kneeling on the ground, who were blind. Seeing that the left guard had come out, he gave the order;
"Left Guard, send someone to help supervise the transportation of grain and grass. Don't slack off." "Yes, Lord, I will obey your order."
The left guard Feng Zhuang responded loudly, and stood up and returned to the line, now looking like a soldier. Looking at the generals and lieutenants in front of him, Zhang Jinyu went back to the high platform and stood on it and said;
"Everyone, since no one else is standing up, I will assume that you all agree. There is only one rule for me to lead troops: obey military orders. Those who do not obey military orders will be executed!"
"Yes, Lord Marquis!"
Many generals in the audience had serious expressions on their faces. When they heard the word "behead", they couldn't help but shiver all over and their eyes were a little nervous. If it was General Wang Jie who said this, everyone would just laugh it off. But when Marquis Luo Yun said this, everyone felt a chill on their necks. It was obviously not a joke.
"Okay, in that case, General Yang Shixiong of Dong'an will be the vanguard and lead the army first."
"I will accept the order,"
Yang Zhixiong was wearing heavy armor and holding a crescent-shaped sword. He bowed with one hand, stepped down from the command platform, mounted his horse, and went to the parade ground. He assembled his troops and led them out of the camp.
"General Song Yutian of Dingdong will lead his troops to follow behind him in a long snake formation, marching south quickly."
"I will obey your orders,"
"General Hu Shoucheng of Dingbei, command 40,000 cavalrymen to escort the main camp's baggage and march south first to find the camping place left by Wang Jiedushi. Set up camp at three nodes. When you arrive at a place, repair the camp and leave 3,000 soldiers to guard it. Prepare meals and wait for the arrival of the army. There must be no delay."
"I will obey your order,"
"General Yin Renchang of Dingnan will lead a part of the central army, and General Duan Wenyuan of Dingxi will lead the siege troops, a total of 200,000 troops. They will set out early tomorrow morning. Follow closely behind and head south. Whenever you arrive at a place, report immediately and make no mistakes."
"The general will obey the order!"
Zhang Jinyu ordered the troops to march from the command platform. Soon, all the generals followed his orders and left. The entire training ground camp was covered with yellow dust. The army set off with a deafening roar.
After arranging the marching formations, Zhang Jinyu looked back at the still somewhat shocked Grand Prince and advised;
"Your Highness, everything is done, we can set off now,"
"Uh, yes, I'm waiting,"
King Zhou Ding of Jin was shocked when he saw the densely packed army on the parade ground. How could such a strong army be defeated by those villains of the Taiping Sect? Is there such a huge difference between the government army and the soldiers of the Beijing camp?
After stepping down from the command platform, he couldn't help but ask;
"My Lord, there is something I don't understand. I hope you can enlighten me."
"Oh, Your Highness, please ask,"
Zhang Jinyu walked in front, turned around and looked at the prince. He really had the demeanor of a prince. Today he was wearing a horse suit and golden silk soft armor, and he looked quite energetic.
"My Lord, is there such a big difference between the imperial army and the Beijing army? How could Wang Ziteng's army of more than 100,000 be defeated by the Taiping Rebellion?"
Without further ado, the question was about the key point. Zhang Jinyu smiled. The Imperial Guards, the Beijing Camp and the Prefecture Army were essentially no different. They were all people. The only difference was the logistics supply and the salary. I seemed to remember a sentence in a book from my previous life. It said that if the Ming army had enough salary, it would be invincible in the world.
This means that there is enough money, food and fodder, and the same is true for the border troops.
"Your Highness, there is no difference. One is money and food, and the other is a limerick that Your Highness has never heard of."
"Oh, logistics, I understand. I don't know what you mean by doggerel, sir?"
The King of Jin became interested. He knew that logistics and food would affect the morale of the army. He had read about it in military books, so it was not surprising. However, how could he know about nursery rhymes or doggerel poems when he never left his house?
"Haha, Your Highness, although the talk of the market is laughable, it is not without merit. I don't know who wrote the doggerel, but it is still correct to describe the troops in the south of the capital. They retreat and advance as fast as the wind, swallow a spit in the face and move slowly as the forest, burn, kill, plunder and invade like fire, and stand still like a mountain when friendly troops are in trouble."
As the saying goes, government troops are like bandits, causing more harm than bandit troops, killing civilians for their own good deeds, and there are many such people. His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin muttered to himself, his face pale. These are not government troops, they are bandits. Could it be that the local government has been corrupted to this extent?
"My Lord, how can we remedy this?"
"Haha, Your Highness, remember this: there are countless people in the world who want to be officials."
As they walked, Zhang Jinyu lifted the curtain of the carriage.
"Your Highness, please get in the car. The personal guards will escort you and we will take a detour to the southwest and head straight for Linshan County City."
"What? Lord, you are not going to Daliang City."
"Report, Master Rong, Master Rong, the rooms in the west courtyard have all been cleaned up. The servants who came with us are planting flowers and trees in the courtyards of the three concubines."
The third courtyard in the south,
In the main house,
Jia Rong was wearing a white gown, sitting in the main seat, sipping tea, with a hairband on his head, his face ruddy, and his spirits high. At first glance, he looked like a young master from an aristocratic family. He didn't know why, but since he left Ningguo Mansion, Jia Rong felt comfortable all over, slept well, ate well, and even savored the tea he didn't like.
Just after taking a sip of tea, Zhong'er ran in with sweat all over his forehead, scolding;
"You kid, you're already the housekeeper, just tell him some things, why are you in such a hurry? By the way, where did you buy these flowers and trees? How much did it cost?"
Jia Rong had hardly gone out these days. He went to the East Courtyard every day to pay his respects to the three concubines and have meals with them. However, no matter how Jia Rong hinted, he still failed to get what he wanted. He was so anxious that he scratched his head. Although the courtesans were nice, he was not interested in them, especially Guimei, who always disliked the bare yard. So last night, he asked Zhonger to find a way to buy some flowers and plants today, and did not mention planting trees.
Although flowers and plants are common, the flowers, plants and trees in the flower gardens in the city streets of Beijing are very valuable. Many wealthy families in Beijing want them. Jia Rong specifically told them to buy some ordinary ones to save some money. However, when he saw it today, he found that there were not only precious flowers and plants in the yard, but also many osmanthus trees were planted in the yard. This made him wonder,
"Master Rong, I took care of everything in the courtyard, just in case something went wrong. As for the flowers and trees outside, I didn't spend a penny on them."
The housekeeper wiped the sweat off his face, unable to hide the smile in his eyes. He went to the East Market early in the morning. Although many flower gardens and shops opened early, the flowers and trees inside were very few and extremely expensive. He simply left the East Market and went back to Ningguo Mansion to have a look. Who knew that he would encounter such a great fortune.
This time it was Jia Rong's turn to become interested. He put down the tea bowl in his hand and thought, since he didn't spend any money, where did those things come from?
"You are good at saying nice things. Since you didn't buy the things, could it be that someone gave them to you?"
How could such a good thing happen? Even when he was in Ningguo Mansion, no one gave him money or flowers.
Some of the money he had earned was earned by him with great effort. His monthly salary was not enough to fill his teeth.
Zhong'er nodded, then shook his head.
"Master is right. Outsiders will certainly not give money to me. However, Rongguo Mansion has already started to build a garden, so I went to take a look. It just so happens that the West Garden of Ningguo Mansion has been demolished, and the flowers, plants and trees will also be cut down. I felt it was a pity, so I went to talk to Butler Lai. Butler Lai took the initiative and sent someone to bring the flowers, plants and trees that were dug out to me into the mansion. I was afraid that they would not survive if they stayed outside for too long, so they are being planted."
"So that's how it is. From now on, you don't have to shout, it's not good if people outside hear it. The Jia family still relies on Rongguo Mansion. All those fancy things outside should be taken down and used to show respect to the master. According to the system of the Great Wu Ancestor, you should observe mourning for three years, so you should pay more attention to some things."
It's not that Jia Rong has come to his senses. He is still worried that someone outside will take advantage of the opportunity to attack him. Although the Ningguo Mansion has been defeated, there may be people who bully the weak and fear the strong. If those civil servants and censors find a reason to report him, who can save him then? Therefore, staying indoors is the right thing to do. If he is with the three concubines, he will not go out for a year at a time!
(End of this chapter)